Standing Stone / Menhir

Fieldnotes

The stone at Porthmeor is one that we've seen dozens of times, as the bus ride from St Ives round the coast goes straight past its field. Despite that, we've never once gone in for a closer look. Animals usually surround it – cows, horses, chickens, geese, dogs, cats and a fox have all been seen in its company over the years. But today there's nothing, just us. A footpath runs across the field, right past the stone, so access is as easy as can be.

From the road, the stone presents a chunky, but gently curving aspect. Once closer at hand though it becomes apparent that this is one of those great standing stones that changes its appearance from each direction (not as markedly as Boswens Croft, but nevertheless). The close proximity of the houses and farm buildings does detract somewhat from the setting and atmosphere, but this is still a fine stone, worthy of your attention. Looking inland, the craggy northern edges of the moors form the backdrop, and over from that direction the sky takes on an angry complexion, promising that rain is not far away.